At my wits end

1999 Honda Civic Sedan LX, 4 dr, manual five speed, power locks, after
market radio installed.

Hopefully I can accurately describe my problem since my sanity depends
on a solution.

Normally, if you leave your key in the ignition and get completely out
of the car a rapidly beeping alarm goes off. My rapidly beeping alarm
goes off whenever it feels like it and indeed does it most of the time.
Any combination of key in or out of the ignition, me in or out of the
car and even when I first walk up to the car and unlock the door will
cause it to beep. Occasionally it doesn't do it, like the time I took
it to the dealer to troubleshoot it. It didn't do it once. As soon as
I got it home it started right back up.

I've noticed that when I take the key out of the ignition and open the
door while still seated in the car I can shift my bottom around and
rarely make it stop, which leads me to believe there's a sensor under
the seat. If so, I'd love to disconnect it. I don't see a specific
fuse for it otherwise I'd pull it. The alarm kills my power locks,
which I assume is part of the intended protection, but I'd like to keep
my power locks so I haven't tried pulling that fuse.

Someone suggested to me that I lubricate my ignition and all door locks
with Lock Ease. I did and all I got was a bunch of black liquid gunk
coming out. No effect on the beeping.

If anyone can tell me how to stop this insanely annoying beeping you'll
be my hero.

 

Sell the car.

 

I think you are on the wrong track with the seat sensor; the door switch
comes first to my mind. The alert should never go off with the door closed,
right?

Look around the driver's door jamb and see if there is more than one
switch - I would expect there is, or that there is one switch with more than
one set of contacts. With the door open, you standing in the doorway and the
key in the ignition the stupid beeper should be going off. Push each button
you see and determine which one affects the beeper. If none do, at least see
which one affects the dome light... it won't be that one if you have more
than one switch. When you find the culprit there are two likely
possibilities: either the switch is intermittent (bad contacts) or it isn't
being pushed all the way in (adjustment or stubbornness). You should be able
to sense intermittent contacts by whether it works reliably with your
finger; if it isn't being pushed far enough in you can confirm that by
taping a pad of tissue or similar on the door where it makes contact.

Mike

 

you have a wiring problem. the beeper is just a warning circuit triggered
by switches. you need to find out which switches are triggering it.

based on what you say, it's either

1. a door switch - which would also affect the behavior of the cabin light.

2. the "key in" switch.

there may be other switches as well, depending on the alarm, but it's a
relatively simple problem if you approach it logically.

for item 2 above, you'll need to exercise some caution because you'll need
to remove the steering column cover, and i believe there is an airbag
deployment advisory for working in that location, but basically, there's a
small switch that tells the bleep system whether the ignition key is in
place. if the screws holding that key are loose, or the switch is worn,
it may not be triggering properly, thus the alarm.

 

Removing the battery connection should ensure that the airbag does not
deploy while removing the steering column cover.

 

then how do you test the electrics/switch functions?

 

Reconnect it after the housing is pulled.

 

after the srs connectors are pulled you mean. you shouldn't mess about
with stuff inside the column unless the srs system is deactivated, but
you need the power on to be able to easily diagnose the switching problem.

 

Logical.

 

Hi,
Then look under the seat, you'll find a wire harness and connector.
Pull it part. Done.

 

You don't mention when it started. Did it start around the time the
aftermarket radio was installed? If so, I'd pull the unit, put the
stock one back in and see if the beeping stops. If so, then it's
obviously something to do with the radio.

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA